Goal-scoring champ Christine Sinclair retires from Canadian duty

The world's all-time leading international soccer goal-scorer is set to call it a career, as Christine Sinclair is retiring from the Canadian women's team.

Sinclair, who has scored 190 goals across 327 appearances for Canada, will return to her club team, the NWSL's Portland Thorns, next year. However, she will wind down her international career before the end of the year.

Canada is scheduled for two friendlies against Brazil this month, at Montreal on Oct. 28 and at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Oct. 31. Two more games expected to be added between Nov. 27-Dec. 5, and Sinclair wrote in a letter published by the Globe and Mail that she expects to conclude in her hometown of Vancouver.

Sinclair, 40, wrote, in part, "Here I am preparing to tie the bow on an unbelievable international career shared with so many incredible teammates, coaches, support staff, fans and of course family. We are not here without them. Here I am in the 90th minute of our journey."

Earlier this year, Sinclair played in her sixth Women's World Cup, tied for second with three other players, trailing only Brazil's Formiga. She came up short in a bid to become the first player to score a goal in six World Cups, as she had a penalty kick saved in a 0-0 draw in the opener against Nigeria.

That moment proved costly as Canada ultimately failed to advance out of the group stage.

The previous major tournament was arguably the highlight of Sinclair's career, and Canada won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

In 2020, Sinclair passed the United States' Abby Wambach (184 goals) to take the top spot in the international goal-scoring charts.

The all-time goal leader among male players is Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo with 127. No male player has appeared in more than five World Cups.